Frozen Pumpkin Mousse With Walnut-Toffee Crunch

I love autumnal cooking and I'm always looking for new and different ways to cook pumpkin. What sets this apart from every other pumpkin mousse I've tried (and makes it particularly sinful) is the "walnut-toffee crunch" part. It really makes all the difference in the world! Make sure your sweet tooth is ready -- this is very, very rich. I change the recipe a bit, so you can see my notes at the bottom. Courtesy of epicurious.com.

• Ready In: 5 hrs 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Crunch

•  vegetable oil
• 1  cup walnut pieces (about 4 ounces)
• 2⁄3 cup  toffee pieces (such as Skor, about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 4  teaspoons  packed dark brown sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 1  tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

• Mousse

• 2  cups  chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 5  large  egg yolks
• 1 1⁄4 cups  canned pumpkin puree
• 2  tablespoons dark rum
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon ground allspice

• Garnish

• 4  cinnamon sticks

Directions

1. For crunch:.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F Line rimmed baking sheet with foil; brush generously with vegetable oil.
3. Toss nuts, toffee bits, sugar, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and toss to coat. Place mixture in center of prepared sheet; pat to single layer.
4. Bake until toffee bits are soft (but retain shape), about 15 minutes. Cool crunch completely on sheet. Transfer to work surface; chop coarsely.
5. For mousse:.
6. Whisk 3/4 cup whipping cream, sugar, and egg yolks in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Stir over medium-low heat until thickened to pudding consistency, about 10 minutes (do not boil). Transfer mixture to large bowl.
7. Mix in pumpkin, rum, vanilla, ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and allspice. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.
8. Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in another large bowl until cream holds peaks. Transfer 1/2 cup whipped cream to medium bowl for garnish; cover and chill. Fold remaining whipped cream into pumpkin mixture. Cover and refrigerate mousse at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.
9. In each of 4 medium (10-ounce) goblets, layer 1/3 cup mousse and generous tablespoon crunch. Repeat 2 more times (some crunch may be left). If necessary, whisk reserved 1/2 cup whipped cream to soft peaks. Pipe or drop dollop of cream onto mousse in each goblet. Cover; freeze overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep frozen. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.) Garnish with cinnamon sticks.
10. My modifications: I prefer this way because it's a little easier, guests can dictate their own portions, and I've never particularly cared for presentation :) This recipe calls for 4 goblets in which to put the mousse -- I basically ignore that by baking the crunch part in a 9" cake pan lined with foil and skipping the chopping step so that the crunch retains the shape of the pan. once the pan and the crunch have cooled completely and I've discarded the foil, I put the crunch back in the pan and use the crunch as a base "crust" of sorts and just dump all the pumpkin mousse on top, skipping the layering. Then I dollop the whipped cream on top and refrigerate the whole thing. I actually prefer it refrigerated and not frozen, but that's just me.